sterile

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

adjective incapable of reproducing
adjective free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms
adjective deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention

From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).

Vegetables, forsooth, and sterile cohabitation! — Ulysses, James Joyce
“Victory and defeat were alike sterile. — Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda
Following this a sterile dressing was applied. — Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, United States. Warren Commission

unfertile, infertile

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